Wednesday, April 20, 2016

While I was finishing my manuscript for The Whispering of Trees, my mom, who'd been helping me with the story, died unexpectedly.

Needless to say, I was devastated, a lost soul, and even the merest thought of working on that manuscript was too sad to contemplate. Then, one night, several months later, while I gazed up at the moon and stars, talking to Mom and Dad, Mom tapped me on the shoulder and whispered in my ear.

"Carla Yvonne Bourgeois, you finish that book."

And, like Aggie, the main character in the book, when my mother used all three of my names, I obeyed. Finishing that book was hard. But, I took my mom's "advice" and finished it. A few weeks later, I was offered a publishing contract. Thank you, Mom!

I believe we are all connected to one another and to the
earth by the electrical energy with which we are composed and that surrounds us
in every living thing, every molecule of air, and every speck of dust in the
universe.

When Mom died so suddenly, I was broken, shattered into a million pieces. But, I found that it helped a little to imagine her energy floating up into the universe to
be rejoined with that of the love of her life, Dad. I close my eyes and envision them
mingling with the energies of all those we have loved and lost, and dancing
through the stars, and I smile.

Now, a little over a year later, I miss them more than ever, but when I look up into the
night sky, I feel my parents smiling down upon me. I feel the energies of all
those I have loved and those whose energies I have connected with even in a
small way, and it brings me comfort to know that one day, hopefully many, many, many years from now, we will meet again, and dance through the universe.

Followers

About Me

Visions of You, a young adult novel and 2013 Paris Book Festival award winner, is the freshman effort of me, C.Y. Bourgeois. After having spent countless enjoyable hours over the years reading other people's narratives, I realized that I too have stories to tell and decided to put them to paper.
I consider myself a native of Alaska, having lived there since the age of two. My husband and I moved to northern Idaho four years ago and now reside there with our two dogs and two cats. I am currently working on my second Shelby Leight novel, Visions of Mortality, as well as picking away at a few additional novel ideas.